Insulation foremost to efficient building

Today, common Insulation creates moisture problems

We must adopt modern, efficient insulation materials.  Insulation material in Canada needs to be updated to effectively protect our homes and reduce our energy dependency.  Canada’s often-humid climate is characterized by high humidity throughout the year in places. The effect of this climate on buildings and residential housing in particular is significant.  Moisture drive is the main issue though the seasonal temperature range exceeds 40 degrees Celsius (80 degrees in places) and contributes to structural damage and energy consumption over the course of the year.

Canadian homes are almost all insulated with fiberglass insulation though recently other fibrous materials such as cellulose and mineral wool have made inroads to the market.  Insulation in Canada must provide protection from moisture drive as well as thermal protection because of our climate.  In Canada, insulation needs to perform as an air barrier and a vapor barrier.  While traditional walls are built with air barrier and vapor barrier layers to protect the fibrous insulation, these have resulted in costly damage on an enormous scale in Canada’s climate.  Either because of poor installation, failure to seal with caulking (in older homes), post installation penetrations placed in the wall by homeowners or failure of the sealants over time, this technique fails to stand up to the environment.

Modern insulation is more costly to install, but save far more money in time.

Insulation in Canada is cheap and readily available and most homeowners give it little thought because it is so widely accepted that insulation comes in plastic bags and is pink in color.  This ready acceptance needs to be challenged for in Canada, pink insulation is responsible for water damage from water ingress, vapor drive from the interior side of the wall and the resultant mold and mildew issues that this soon to be trapped water creates.

Spray Foam Insulation results in energy efficiency, and healthy indoor air quality.

Homeowners need spray foam insulation in Canada and need to familiarize themselves with its cost, benefits and limitations for no other product can withstand the high humidity of our climate.  Spray foam insulation in Canada provides an air barrier/vapor barrier and thermal insulation in a single application.  Spray Foam insulation is made of billions of tiny plastic wrapped bubbles which are not subject to air movement or moisture drive, making it the very best insulation material for Canada cold climate on the market.  While more expensive to install, spray foam insulation results in lower utility bills, less structural damage over the life of the building, longer building life and a far lower overall ownership costs than fibrous products.  Be sure to ask how EcoLogicfoam insulation can meet your needs.

Tags : air quality, air tight, benifits, building envelope, moisture, R-value, renovating, spray foam insulation, thermal insulation
Posted in : Common Questions, Environment, R-value, building envelope | 6 Comments »

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation

Why Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation?

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation (SPF) addresses the three main deficiencies in todays building insulation  – low whole wall R-Values, moisture damage due to vapor permeability and air tightness.

Insulation is used to stop heat loss and conserve energy, but todays materials fail to do an effective job of this on several counts.  Heat is lost in three ways, radiation, convection and conduction.  Of these, convective heat loss (movement of air – and heat with it from one area to another) is the most significant accounting for 60% of total heat loss.  Conduction accounts for another 32% with radiation responsible for the remaining 8%.

Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation eliminates convective heat loss.

Convection occurs within your walls because of the thermal gradient across the wall assembly.  On the warm side of the wall, air is tends to rise and on the cold side of the wall, air will sink where air movement is not prevented.  This readily occurs in fibrous materials in conventional wall assemblies.  Spray Polyurethane foam insulation, however, eliminates convective heat loss because of its closed cellular structure preventing the movement of air through the material.  In doing so, it entirely eliminates the most significant source of heat loss in the thermal envelope.

Conduction is addressed by the measurement of R-Value.  In as little as 3.3” of closed cell SPF, an R-Value of R20 can be achieved reducing conductive heat loss exceeding the performance of 6” of fiberglass.

While neither fiberglass nor closed cell SPF addresses radiation, the effective whole wall performance of a closed cell SPF wall assembly will significantly outperform today’s fibrous materials by a considerable margin.

Protect your home from moisture damage with Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation.

Moisture damage occurs due to vapor drive, condensation and water ingress.  Key to eliminating vapor drive is the use of a vapor impermeable material.  While 6 mil poly perfectly installed, completely sealed at top and bottom plates and transitions can serve as such until it is penetrated, poly fails when even small punctures are made in the product.  It is estimated that a one square inch hole allows as much moisture through a wall annually as 300 square feet of diffusion!  Because closed cell SPF is several inches thick, sprayed against the outside wall and bonded to the substrate (sheathing and studs), it forms a complete seal, not easily damaged by penetrations for wall hangings and electrical boxes.

Condensation is eliminated with Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation.

Condensation occurs when a body of air is cooled sufficiently to condense moisture in the air mass.  Inside your walls, this occurs at the point in your insulation where the air becomes saturated.  If this occurs in todays fibrous products, moisture is deposited in your walls and can, over time, cause damage.  Closed cell SPF on the other hand does not breathe.  With the condensation point occurring inside the mass of SPF, there is not opportunity to deposit moisture eliminating this source of future damage.

Water ingress, regardless if it is due to a failed roof membrane, condensation or vapor drive requires that moisture be permitted a channel to escape.  A wall can dry to the interior or exterior but it must dry.  With SPF sprayed to the outside of the wall, and no poly sheathing on the inside of the wall, SPF provides readily available drying potential to the interior and a safer assembly than traditional fibrous products covered with 6 mil poly on one side and house wrap on the other.

Create an air tight home with Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation.

Finally, closed cell SPF results in a very airtight structure.  While this requires the installation of mechanical air handling equipment to ensure sufficient fresh air supply, the mantra “seal it tight, ventilate it right” is the best rule to follow.  By providing direct control of air leakage, we can control air turn over and reduce heat loss due to ad-hoc seepage through wall assemblies.  Cost offsets can be found in downsizing  HVAC equipment due to lower natural air turnover.

By relying on traditional materials a home will consume as much as 50% more energy than is possible by installing closed cell SPF.  A wall assembly built with closed cell SPF reduces moisture related damage and therefore cost of ownership and increased air tightness improves on long term thermal performance as well as providing opportunity for cost offsets by reducing the size of mechanical equipment.

The long-term cost of this decision far outweighs the additional expense of upgrading to closed cell SPF.  This is to say nothing of the increased comfort in:

• Climate control.
• Quieter walls.
• Less dust.
• Increased structural rigidity.

Closed Cell Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation is the next generation in high performance thermal barriers.

Closed cell SPF is the next generation of insulating material.  While more costly up front, the long term financial return when energy savings are accounted for results in significant savings over todays fibrous materials.  By reducing moisture related damage, increasing efficiency and comfort, Spray Polyurethane Foam is the solution to todays increasingly demanding building codes and energy conscious home owners.

Tags : air tight, benifits, building envelope, conduction, convection, energy efficient, moisture
Posted in : R-value, Return on Investment, building envelope | 7 Comments »

cost of home ownership

The High cost of Home Ownership

This week, I have a personal story to tell as it taught me something new.  Some very good friends of ours are in the process of building a home.  This home is larger than any I ever aspire to live in, at over 7500 square feet.  Being built in South Langley, it is in the premiere development in the Fraser Valley where lots run well into 7 figures.

This home is surrounded by multi-million dollar homes and when finished will join them with a similar valuation.  The finishes are outstanding, the view incredible, little expense is spared from granite to Appliances, fixtures to finishes.  As I indicated, these are good friends and I offered to install our soya based spray foam insulation for what is essentially cost because first I wanted them to have the best and I wanted to help them where I could and second because I wanted to showcase our product in a market where it makes sense to spray foam.  7500+ square foot homes are costly to heat!

Cost of Home Ownership impacted by Insulation Choices

I was more than a little surprised when our friends turned down my offer.  Far from being hurt, I could not understand why they would not take advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity to save on the size of their furnace, the air conditioner, their HRV, their on-going energy expenses!  Why they would not want to reduce the amount of dust entering their home, the noise that penetrates the walls, or enjoy the comfort that comes from a home that is insulated with spray foam.

It has taken some time, but I have come to realize that no matter rich or poor, we all tend to look at money in relation to time.  The true cost of home ownership is never accounted for.  The total cost of home ownership is never really considered.  While spray foam is considerably more expensive than fiberglass batts, these are up front costs, while this decision has an everlasting impact on the ownership costs, specifically impacting utility bills and maintenance.

Fiberglass negatively impacts the total Cost of Home Ownership

I urge you to consider the math of installing a cheap and inferior furnace filter as an insulator (fiberglass) instead of an air tight, vapor barrier and thermal insulator in spray foam insulation.  Your cost of home ownership with spray foam including up front installation and utilities meet the cost of owning a home with fiberglass in between 5 and 6 years, after which you are saving money with spray foam.  Yes, it is the cheaper solution in as little as 5 years!

Another item that I find people often overlook is how air tight their spray foamed homes are.  The mantra “seal it tight, ventilate it right” describes a sound way to build.  By spraying your home, you air seal your building envelope resulting in near zero seepage.  This means that your furnace can be downsized, as can your heat pump, geo-thermal unit, air conditioner, and air filtration system.  There are significant savings to be had here.

If the decision to use foam is made at the planning stages, there are additional savings to be made using modern framing techniques because foam increases your shearing strength by three fold.

The cost of home ownership is also impacted by maintenance.  Because foam eliminates moisture ingress, maintenance due to water damage is virtually eliminated.

Fiberglass increases the total cost of Home Ownership

In so many ways, foam is the cheap alternative to fiberglass which results in high energy bills, poor performance, oversized HRV equipment, potential moisture damage and increased maintenance costs.  How do you look at the cost of home ownership?

Tags : benifits, building envelope, Cost, heat loss, moisture, return, spray foam insulation
Posted in : Cost, building envelope | 3 Comments »

Is your home sealed too tight?

Here’s a conundrum:  Modern Canadian homes are too tight?  But efficient homes have to be tight by definition.  Following is a brief look at the issue, the problem, and an effective solution.

Traditionally, homes were made to breathe, not sealed up air tight.

Traditional Homes in Canada stood the test of time. They were not terribly well insulated, not very efficient, not immune to water ingress and yet they were fairly healthy to live in, they withstood the elements and they lasted a long time.  Modern Canadian Homes on the other hand, are very efficient, are well insulated, include products to manage water ingress and eliminate air movement through walls and as a result are much tighter.  As building techniques have changed though, occupants and architects have found that modern buildings in Canada do not always create healthy living environments, are often subject to water damage and tend to incur higher maintenance costs and have shorter life expectancies.  What has happened and what can be done?

At issue is moisture.  In Canada, moisture is responsible for most structural damage to wood frame buildings.  It is primarily responsible for reduced indoor air quality, it is required for the growth and spread of mold and its damaging effects to both buildings and occupants and it results in shorter building life spans and higher building maintenance costs.

Energy Efficiency requires air tight buildings

The problem is that whereas older buildings were designed and built fairly porous, modern buildings are built tight to seal in heat energy.  The result is that older Canadian buildings naturally got wet and then dried while modern buildings still get wet in spite of 6 mil polyethylene vapor barriers, but they do not dry!  This trapped moisture is the source of rot, and mildew, and is the cause of most structural damage, mold growth, poor indoor air quality and high maintenance costs.

A typical modern wall assembly

To look closer at how a modern Canadian home is built we need to look at how its wall assembly is created.  This typically includes 2×6 wood framing members with fibrous insulation batts fitted in the cavity between them.  On the indoor side of the framing is a 6 mil polyethylene vapor barrier, drywall and paint.  On the outside of the wall we generally find OSB sheathing, a house wrap and vinyl siding.  The purpose of the vapor barrier, and the house wrap layers is to protect the porous insulation in between them from air movement for air carries with it moisture.

The entire assembly is designed to assist the fibrous insulating layer in its job and to protect it from getting and staying wet.  In doing so, any moisture that does get past them through penetrations or inadequate sealing at transitions becomes trapped.  What is required is to replace the insulating layer itself with a material that prevents the flow of air and moisture through it.

The answer: An Air tight seal that does not permit moisture to accumulate.

If the insulating layer itself is impenetrable to moisture than there would be no space for moisture to accumulate and all of the issues with modern Canadian homes would be addressed in a single application.  There would be no water damage, mold growth, poor indoor air quality, higher maintenance costs or reduced building life expectancy and we would have well insulated, highly efficient buildings to boot!

The only product that possesses the properties and capability to achieve the required moisture barrier in Canada is medium density (2 Lb) spray foam insulation.  Sprayed in place it is perfectly fitted to completely fill even the tiniest gaps and cracks in the wall assembly.  Spray foam insulation is a recognized air barrier and vapor barrier by the Canadian Construction Materials Center.  Spray foam insulation is one of the most rigorously tested materials that goes into homes.  It does not off gas after installation, it is inert, it will not settle or sag, it is rigid and increases the racking and shearing strength to a home by 300%, it has an R value of twice fiberglass in a given depth or thickness of material and while more costly to install it reduces the total cost of ownership by reducing energy expenses, maintenance costs and eliminating water damage.  The soft cost of improved indoor air quality and occupant comfort alone are enough to justify the additional cost.  Spray foam is becoming far more widely accepted in Canada by homeowners who increasingly understand the importance of moisture control in the health of their homes.

The answer is to seal it tight and ventilate it right.

Tags : air quality, air tight, building envelope, moisture
Posted in : Environment, building envelope | 5 Comments »

Vapor Barrier

The wall assembly and moisture

Poor moisture control is responsible for the majority of structural damage to our homes wall assembly.   Moisture ingress into the wall assembly and its subsequent accumulation must be kept to a minimum for a buildings long term performance.  A wall assembly is designed to separate two unlike air masses – the internal from the external.  With careful planning, this can be accomplished but the majority of existing buildings, especially our homes, leak - outdoor air seeps into the wall assembly or even interior conditioned space, and conditioned interior air escapes and with it the heat, humidity control, and air purifying dollars spent to make our indoor environment ideal.

Penetrations in the wall assembly

Air movement through a buildings wall assembly happens because typical wall assembly seen in residential buildings are full of penetrations, utilize fibrous insulating materials, or are inadequately crafted.  This is accelerated where pressure is applied in the form of wind washing, large temperature differences across the wall assembly or as a result of vapor pressure differences.

A typical wall assembly is created (in Canada) with cladding on the outside of 2×6 structural framing with house wrap (Tyvek), and OSB in between.  The cavity is filled with fibrous insulation and the interior side of the framing is covered with 6 mil polyethylene layer and gypsum wallboard.  There are a number of potential problems with this construction.  First off, with the vapor barrier on the internal side of the wall assembly there is very little protection afforded to the fibrous insulation from exterior pressures from wind washing and convective currents created due to temperature differences across the wall assembly.  This means that exterior air has free access to the insulation in the wall assembly which itself allows air to move through it (fiberglass also doubles as a furnace filter – something you WANT air to move through)!  The result – a wall assembly that performs at vastly degraded real world R-Values than advertised.   The same thing happens from the interior side in a home that is pressurized.  Indoor, moisture laden air is forced through gaps, transitions and inadequately sealed junctions in the wall assembly into the cavity insulation and with it the energy used to condition it.   The main problem with this, aside from the immediate energy loss, is the moisture that this air carries with it.  When warm, moist air from either side of the wall reaches a sufficiently cool surface (from the cold outside in winter or through the use of air conditioners in summer), a condensing surface is formed allowing moisture to condense, accumulate, cause water damage, permit mold growth and lower the air quality of the home.  This is where a 6 mil polyethylene vapor barrier actually works against the building envelope by preventing the wall assembly from drying.  Because fiberglass allows air to move through it, and air moves moisture, water is going to get into a fiberglass insulated wall – what is then needed is a way for the water to get out – this cannot readily happen when vapor retarders such as polyethylene are used.

Spray Foam creates a better wall assembly

A better wall assembly is built when using medium density spray foam insulation such as EcoLogicFoam.  By forming billions of tiny bubbles made of thin plastic walls, it is impervious to moisture flow (recognized by the Canadian Construction materials Center as an air & vapor Barrier) and does not allow water to accumulate inside of the material.  Further because it is a continuous insulator, the surface of the foam never becomes a condensing surface on either the interior or the exterior surface meaning that any moisture laden air that comes into contact with it cannot deposit or accumulate that moisture on the surface of the foam.  This alleviates the pressure driven movement of both air and moisture through the wall assembly and results in a tight envelope that permits the conditioning of the interior environment with a high degree of efficiency through conservation.

In our next instalment we will examine the cost of using spray foam insulation verses typical fiberglass batts in a wall assembly.

Tags : air tight, building envelope, convection, moisture
Posted in : Environment, building envelope | 58 Comments »

Apply spray foam here

There has been a long standing debate about home construction and how to build good, sound, safe, healthy homes.  Over the last half century, homes have become increasingly air tight as mandated by changes to building codes.  This has caused a number of issues in building envelope performance and has stoked the ongoing debate.

Long standing, experienced home builders advocate a home that naturally breathes as being healthier.  Allowing a home to naturally breathe allows any moisture that accumulates inside the walls or attic space to naturally exit as it evaporates over time back into the air column around it and is then carried out through soffets, transitions or simply through a semi permeable wall assembly.

With increasing energy costs and consumer awareness of energy efficiency, homeowners are calling for more efficient homes and builders and code officials have responded with tighter envelopes.  In an increasingly energy conscious world, it makes no sense to simply allow a building to leak air naturally when we have to spend an ever increasing amount of money to heat and cool our homes.  Since we have the technology to make homes more efficient, we should.  Any concerns about moisture accumulation can be handled by mechanical equipment and maintaining humidity in an acceptable range.

With the increasing tightness of code required buildings, there have been situations where trapped moisture in wall cavities, unable to exit to the exterior of the wall has collected and resulted in rot, mildew, mold, or structural damage and in extreme cases caused health related concerns and significant financial hardship.

The core of the issue though is moisture accumulation.  Moisture does cause damage and needs to be addressed.  99% of modern newly built homes continue to use a fibrous material to thermally insulate them.  This is the core of the problem.  Because fiberglass, Roxol, cellulose or any other fiber based product is permeable to moisture laden air, and because a vapor barrier is only placed on one side of the wall or the other (In Canada, this is on the warm, indoor side of the wall), moisture does enter wall cavities, where it does come into contact with condensing surfaces and can accumulate to cause damage in tightly sealed homes.

While tight homes are energy efficient, they risk becoming health risks, while freely breathing homes have healthy indoor air quality because of the natural air exchanges that take place each day, they are costly to heat and uncomfortable to live in.  What is the answer?

Fibrous insulation IS at the core of the problem and the reason moisture enters wall cavities.  What if the insulation used in homes was impermeable to air & moisture – it would not matter where the vapor pressure was coming from, moisture could not enter the wall cavity.  What if the insulation was also able to perfectly seal the wall cavity so that no air could move around it either?  Such a wall assembly would by design be vastly more resilient to moisture damage and its resultant health concerns.

Spray foam insulation is the solution.  Spray foam insulation has a higher R Value than any other insulation product on the market.  Spray foam insulation is a recognized air barrier and vapor barrier, meaning it is impervious to moisture and prevents the damage water can cause.  Spray foam insulation is custom fit to the walls of your home because as it expands it wraps itself around every element in your walls and seals them entirely.  Unlike fibrous products which will settle or sag over time, spray foam will never move, never deform – it is elastic enough to allow for settling of new homes and moves with the framing members.

With spray foam insulation, the modern mantra “Build it tight, ventilate it right.” results in not only energy efficient homes, but healthy indoor living environments and durable buildings by preventing moisture and its resultant damage from entry.

Tags : air quality, building envelope, Environment, moisture, spray foam insulation
Posted in : building envelope | 15 Comments »

An Air Barrier systems should:

Air Barrier

- eliminate air movement through the building envelope

- be continuous over the entire building enclosure

- be robust enough to withstand its environment and forces applied

- be durable

Air barrier systems are created in numerous ways:

- exterior air barrier membranes – blueskin used on commercial applications

The advantage to the blueskin membrane is that it self adheres, does not release and is continuous when properly installed.  Its disadvantages include its cost.  It is therefore generally used only in Commercial applications.   Being installed on the exterior of the wall, it does nothing to prevent differential pressure from moving moisture laden air into the wall from the interior of the building.

- Exterior applied rigid foam panels

Exterior rigid foam panels form a continuous insulating layer which when newly and properly installed form an air barrier system that is impenetrable to the effects of wind pressure and resultant heat loss.  The main disadvantage is that the system relies on the resilience of adhesives and sealant caulking which yield over time allowing air movement around the panels.  Rigid Foam Panels do not prevent moisture laden interior air from moving into the wall cavity.

- interior air barrier membranes – 6 mil polyethylene

The main advantage to 6 mil polyethylene sheet is that it is widely accepted and inexpensive.  It also prevents moisture laden air from entering the wall cavity through the interior side of the wall assembly.  The disadvantages is that it is dependant on adhesives and sealants which fail in time and it is subject to penetrations at time of construction and by occupants who hang paintings, or make changes to their interiors.  Because it is applied to the warm side fo the wall assembly in Canada, it does nothing to prevent wind pressure or vapor pressure from moving moisture laden air into the wall cavity from the exterior side of the wall.  Ove rthe life of a building, it performs as a poor air barrier.

- interior air barrier through gypsum board

Gypsum board as an air barrier is a difficult assembly to create because it requires a level of attention to detail that most contractors and tradesmen fail to provide.  Top and bottom plates, rim joists and sub floor, ceiling board, sill plates must all be caulked, glued, taped, or sealed with gaskets prior to installation.  This is an air barrier system which will only perform with extreme attention to detailing as it is installed and therefore generally fails to meet its performance criteria even when just installed.   In time, these sealants release causing drywall to perform as a poor air barrier.

- cavity filled spray foam insulation air barrier

Spray Foam insulation is an effective air barrier system, surpassing the National Building Code of Canada’s specification (the most stringent in the world) with an air permeance of less than 0.02 l/(s-m2) @ 75 Pa.  Acting as an air barrier, vapor barrier and insulation layer in a single application, drying is not a factor as the materials itself is impermeable to moisture.  The main advantage to spray foam is that it is ‘custom fit’ – adhering to and formed specifically for the space into which it is applied.  It requires no detailing or other special care, it never settles, sags, or degrades in performance.

Unlike other air barriers which are designed to protect a fibrous insulating material, insulating foam is not subject to moisture ingress from either the warm or cold side of the wall and thus moisture accumulation and damage is not an issue.  This is a very significant benefit to using foam.  Spray foams main disadvantage is its perceived cost.  While up front it is more expensive, the long term impact on ownership costs result in savings to homeowners who choose spray foam insulation.

Air Barriers are key to the building Envelope, see our next article….. moisture control and the building envelope.

Tags : building envelope, energy efficient, Environment, moisture, spray foam insulation
Posted in : building envelope | 39 Comments »